Certainly, our society is propped up by oil, and since oil is a nonrenewable resource and inherently inefficient (not to mention our knack for increasing entropy), our political leaders must make prudent policy decisions that facilitate society’s transfer from depending largely on ever-decreasing or unavailable energy sources to relying on a more sustainable and diverse energy mix. Furthermore, centralizing growth, preserving the environment, modernizing how electricity is used and delivered, using less concrete by opening up more green spaces for trees and gardens, in addition to constructing or retrofitting buildings to be more efficient are all examples of prudent policies that will advance society. From Q-Notes:
[Mark] Kleinschmidt was endorsed by current Chapel Hill mayor Kevin Foy. His campaign platform called for better public transportation, community development, centralized urban growth rather than sprawl and environmental protection.
Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina, who is a Republican U.S. Senate candidate from California, is an excellent example of a wannabe politician (her voting record is “spotty”) promoting obtuse, reckless, shortsighted, or unwise environmental policies (i.e., she’s a good fit for Republicans/Conservatives or whatever they call themselves nowadays). Basically, she wants to “unshackl[e] agribusiness from environmental protections,” and she blames California’s water crisis on the Endangered Species Act (emphasis added):
Common sense would tell us that it shouldn’t take an act of Congress to put the urgent needs of people ahead of a small fish. Apparently it does.
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The day began with a visit to a local farm and a thorough briefing by water and agriculture experts. They provided a realistic assessment of the ill-considered actions that have literally turned off the spigot and prevented farmers from getting the water necessary to put their land into production.
More profound was my visit later to the west Valley community of Huron where acre after acre of farmland sit fallow because of a lack of water.
It underscored the fundamental reason this issue is so critical: Fertile farmlands create jobs, but fallow lands leave a devastating impact on the workers and their families whose lives and livelihoods depend on these farms.
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Hundreds of thousands of acres in the San Joaquin Valley lie fallow this year. The University of California at Davis estimates that in 2009, the lack of water coming from both the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project could result in the loss of up to 95,000 jobs.
While the persistent drought has certainly contributed to these effects, what would have been a difficult problem has become a crisis due to the aggressive and ill-considered implementation of the Endangered Species Act.
This act has been an important tool in conservation efforts. However, it is also true that the act prohibits the consideration of economic and social impacts.
The recent decision to limit water flowing to the Valley was made by nameless, faceless bureaucrats. These federal officials are unaccountable to voters for their action and there is little recourse to reverse their decision — unless Congress acts.
Fiorina blames the Endangered Species Act for California’s water crisis, but California’s water crisis exists because of drought, reckless and improper development, continued human growth, in addition to building and farming in areas where water is naturally scarce. Furthermore, there is no balancing under the Endangered Species Act, since the critters should win. Consequently, Fiorina, like the majority of Republican/Conservative politicians fail to grasp or understand the big picture when it comes to environmental issues. More from Carly Fiorina:
Washington must show the discipline to cut spending and create policies that encourage and empower businesses to put people back to work.
For example, about 40,000 California farmers and farm workers in our Central Valley are out of work because we can’t find a balance between protecting our environment and protecting the economy. We can change this terrible situation by changing our representation in the U.S. Senate.
According to Fiorina, she has a poor voting record, “because she felt unconnected to politicians.” I’m sure.
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